Upstanders

We all know about victims, perpetrators, rescuers and bystanders. But what is an UPSTANDER?

Upstander is a word that has just recently come in to use (and is not yet acknowledged in dictionaries), a term coined by journalist Samantha Power to identify people who are willing to stand up and take action in defense of others. It can refer to individuals who take large risks during wars and political turmoil, and it also identifies people who take small but helpful steps to shield others from bullying and other injustices.

In 2008 the University of Minnesota Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies created a Readers Theater based on the actions of several “upstanders”. The script they created can be found at their website.

Having ‘discovered’ the script through a listserve, and with the enthusiastic support of the Minnesota Center, we made revisions to the script and presented it to the public for Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”) in November 2008. You can download that script here. Based on the success of that program, we revised it several more times – once to use as a teaching tool at the Teachers Institute, and most recently at the 2010 Annual Dinner of Tribute. This abbreviated script and the accompanying PowerPoint can be further adapted for classroom and community use. If you use Upstanders, please give the University of Minnesota and the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida credit.

The Center can provide technical support for schools and local organizations that want to use the script to talk to their own community about the role of upstanders in creating a safer, more welcoming society.

The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida · 851 N Maitland Ave · Maitland, FL 32751 · Phone: 407-628-0555 · info@holocaustedu.org